Wednesday, September 25, 2013

// love where you live

I'm currently loving how this little area at the top of
our stairs is coming together.

I’ve
been thinking about that first part about “loving where you live.”

Why? Why do
I think it’s so important?

I
came up with two reasons and I wanted to share, it being my blog and all.

:: One ::
I’m a stay-at-home mom. I spend the majority of my day within these walls and
it can be draining, mentally and physically. When I look around my house I want to love what I see.

When things get ugly throughout the day, I want to see pretty things hanging on the walls.

I really think that your physical environment affects so
much of what you feel.

For the record, I’m
certainly not saying that my house is clean. By no means!

If you walked
in right now it’s the cleanest that it has been in a v e r y long time and that’s
due to the fact that I’m a bit overenthusiastic about having a brand new vacuum (we’ve never had a new-new vacuum).

It’s a little bit sad, to tell you the truth.
The novelty of it all will wear off, I promise.

After
seeing a relatively clean rug, you’d see the couch cushions on the floor

and,
later, a grimy bathroom that I haven’t cleaned after having 30+ people over
last Saturday.

Every
day every single room of my house is peppered with toys of all sizes, shoes
that my three-year-old kicks off as soon as he walks in the door, and the
kitchen counters are littered with remnants of breakfast and lunch prep until
well after dinner time.

BUT! While
picking up toys for the umpteenth time, I glance towards the door and see a few
cute and tiny gourd pumpkins on top of the record player. There’s a pretty fall
wreath hanging on the bright red front door.

Upstairs, I’m still infatuated
with the stripes we painted

and I still love the black and white picture
collage of our family.

Those things bring extra happiness to my day.

I
feel a little bit of joy when I catch sight of the stairs with walnut-colored stained
landings,

bright white risers, and batten board walls on each side.

My husband
refinished them last spring

and they are everything I wanted after talking
about the project for four years.

When
I see these things, I feel like I’m home. I feel like I’m in MY home. The home
my husband and I have almost literally built together and made our own. It is sprinkled with things all around that mean something to us that have our stories
behind them.

It’s good for my soul to remember that this is the house the Lord
has given Phil and I.

It’s the house that we’ve been making a home for our
entire marriage.

It’s
so good to remember that this is the house that my kids will call their first
home.

It’s where we’re making their first memories.

All
that makes it easier to go back to wiping tushies and feeding babies and making dinner.

:: Two ::
I think my home should feel a little bit like a haven for my husband, my kids,
and anyone who comes in here.

I
hope our home is where my husband looks forward to coming back to after a day
in the big, mean world. I want him to walk into a house filled with pictures of
us and his kids and quotes about things that we value as a couple and as a family.

I want him to feel like
we’re building something --a home, a family-- worth building.

I
want my house to edify my family. I want my son to feel proud when he sees his
schoolwork up on the shelf in the family room. I want my kids to both to see
their tiny footprints on the wall in the room where they play and their
initials hanging up in their room.

When
the world outside my home is ugly and competitive and overwhelming, I want so
badly to have a place for people to come in to feel safe and a sense of belonging. Somewhere where family and friends can sit on the couch, put
their feet up, and have a cup of coffee. Don’t worry about the coasters.

I
want to my house to be filled with things that scream:

“Hi, we’re the Tomasellos’— Phil, Esther,
Jake, and Siena.”

Why are there two maps hanging up? Phil is American, Esther
is from Costa Rica. Why is there a statue of Mary in your kitchen next to an
embroidery hoop that says “Choose Joy”? We’re Catholic and we believe that Mary
is our greatest example of joy. What’s that photo album of? Take a look: it’s of
all of our Christmas cards, invitations,

and birth announcements from over the years.

I really love my house but this blog is called Lovingly Thrown Together for a very
good reason. A lot of the things that you’ll find here are just that, thrown
together but with a ton of love. We don’t have crazy amounts of money to do
projects but we make-do.

We use what the Lord has given us to beautify our
space and make it great for us to live in.

I
encourage you to do the same. Maybe don’t paint stripes on your walls but try
framing your wedding invitation or just a favorite quote printed from the
interwebs. Throw some extra pillows on the couch or a pretty table cloth over
the dining room table.

Make your space yours.

Let it represent you and bring you joy.

Do
you have something you love in your house? Even if it's a pumpkin on top of an herb jar or the color of your bathroom. I'd really love to hear about it.

Let me know in the comments below, on
Facebook, or on Instagram with hashtag #lovelivehome and tag me @esther_tomo.

2 comments:

I think its so important to love where you live. I love to decorate and make our house feel like ours..like a "home"...our home. I am a sucker for pillows, candles, shabby chic lanterns and inspirational artwork.